I Was Uninsured and Caused a Car Wreck. Now I Am Getting Sued by Other Driver’s Insurance Company. Help!

I ran a red light four months ago and hit another car. The other driver was not hurt. It cost the other driver $3200 to get his car fixed. He asked me to have my insurance company pay it and I told him I didn’t have any insurance on my car at the time. Now his insurance company is suing me. What’s up with that?

You caused a wreck and you are responsible for the harm and damages you cause. You were lucky you only caused property damage and not a personal injury, but you are responsible for reasonable cost of fixing the car and for loss of use of the car while it was being fixed.

The other driver’s insurance company paid because you did not have insurance. This insurance company now has a right to seek reimbursement from you. This is called "subrogation."

Most insurance companies will work out a payment plan with you. If you do not feel comfortable negotiating with the insurance company you will need to hire a lawyer to help you. Do not ignore this – is is very unlikely to just go away.

By the way, you need to get some car insurance. Tennessee law requires it, and if you had insurance in place at the time your insurance company would have made this payment for you.